Inbound Flight Operator
Posted on 29 Oct 2022 @ 10:11am by Senior Chief Petty Officer Lex Navine & Command Master Chief Tāne HaiRoa
Edited on on 06 Feb 2024 @ 10:26pm
Mission:
M3 - Into the Deep
Location: Flight Operations
Timeline: M3 D06 Morning
2082 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure
Braedyn finished rinsing out his mouth and checked his chronometer and nodded to himself. He had plenty of time for his meeting with the base XO. He checked himself over in the mirror and made sure he was presentable and that his uniform was correct. It was. Nodding again, he left the head in his quarters and closed the hatch, then exited his quarters and closed that hatch as well, locking it behind him. He proceeded through the corridors to the turbolift that would take him to the command deck. He caught a lift and off he went to me one of his new bosses.
Braedyn realized he was a bit nervous but very excited about this new opportunity. Teaching cadets for the last six years had been rewarding, but it was time to get back out in the field where the action was.
Braedyn arrived at the CIC and looked around for the XO.
A Security Officer noticed the pilot approaching the checkpoint.
"Good morning Sir," She greeted the Warrant Officer. "How can I assist you?"
"Chief Warrant Officer Braedyn Tann to see the XO," Braedyn replied.
"I see, Sir" She took the PADD with his transfer orders and directed him to a seat in the waiting area, then used the comm panel at her desk speaking quietly.
A short while later HaiRoa arrived. He came down the stairs from the command level and stopped at the check point. The Security Officer handed him the PaDD and indicated Tann.
HaiRoa scrolled through the orders and came over. "Chief Warrant Officer Tann. I'm HaiRoa, Command Master Chief"
"Command Master Chief," Braedyn said. "I was told to report to the XO."
"Commander Zayne is in a briefing with the Admiral. As a member of the Flight Operations division, you will need to report into Senior Chief Petty Officer Navine in Tower Control. " He explained handing back the PaDD. "He's acting Chief until Starfleet assigns us a permanent department head."
Tann frowned. Then why was he told to report to the XO?? Reporting in to someone he outranked was annoying, but manageable. So was having the top NCO on the station forget to call him 'sir' in front of everyone. Braedyn decided to let it go for now. If it became a problem later, he'd deal with it.
"Then I guess it's off to Tower Control for me," Braedyn said. "Another time, Master Chief."
"That's Command Master Chief, Sir" HaiRoa reminded the pilot.
Braedyn laughed. "Is that what that thing on your collar means?" he said. "Just kidding. No offense intended Command Master Chief."
"Not a problem" HaiRoa nodded "Stop by the Chief Petty Officer's Mess at twelve-thirty and I'll buy you lunch"
"Thank you, Command Master Chief," Braedyn replied. "That's very kind of you. 1230hrs at the Chief's Petty Officer's Mess. See you then."
Braedyn hit the door chime to the Tower Control Administration Office and waited for Lex to respond.
There came no response verbally. Instead a few moments passed until the door was answered personally by the same horned older goatee'd Grazerite who had welcomed Braedyn into the Loki system the day before.
"Ah! Chief Tann. This is a welcome pleasure." Lex offered him a warm smile as he lowered a pair of spectacles, squinted his eyes, and motioned for Braedyn to come in. His office was full of old draftsman implements, collectors maps, star charts, sextants and other stellar reckoning devices native to his homeworld. But most of it wasn't properly installed so much as leaned up against the walls and furniture and there were a number of unopened crates stacked around. "This isn't really my permanent office," He said by way of apology as he cleared several storage tubes from one of the comfortable armchairs. "I haven't unpacked, as I am waiting to be reassigned." He dusted off the seat. "But I was about to have a little mulled cider the missus sent along. Would you like a mug?"
"I assume you mean unleaded mulled cider, Senior?" Braedyn said, jokingly. "I hate to have to write up my boss on my very first day for consuming intoxicants on duty? Or myself, for that matter. So if you haven't put rum or wine in it, or any other booze... sure, I'll take a mug."
Lex moved to a crate he had on its side and was using as a cabinet. He took out two ceramic mugs, clearly handmade and stamped with a potter's mark along the foot. There was a tall thermos on his desk, and he unwound the cap to pour out the contents. Right away the mulled herbs escaped into the room and seemed to warm the atmosphere as if the holidays had been bottled inside.
"Our Upsol is synonymous back home with orchards." Lex explained in his slow, methodical way. "On Earth- McIntosh, Braeburn, and Granny Smith. On Grazer- Colton, Semmersworth, and Navine. Warm cider is more common than coffee or tea in harvest season back home. We've just received a shipment of pressed cider in a care package from my brother." He extended one of the mugs to his guest and winked. "Don't worry. The hard cider only comes out after the children have all gone to bed."
"Many thanks," Braedyn replied. He took a sip of the cider. "Very good."
Lex lowered himself onto another chair and had a sip off the top of his mug. "You found your quarters well enough, yesterday?" He knew each new officer had instructions on their assignment and accommodations, but on occasion there was the odd mistake and he felt obliged to ask.
"Yes," Braedyn said. "I've served on or passed through a lot of Stardock Class bases over the years. It wasn't too hard to find. So, you were saying you're short on pilots and you're in the middle of a Sigma Yellow. Test Pilot School got me familiarization time in the Gryphon, the Valk, and some others, but I wouldn't say I could really fly them in a tense situation. But I can fly any support craft you've got and I can make them do things that would surprise you. Shuttles, Runabouts, Scouts, Hoppers, even the Wallace Class, Hornets, Defiants, Novas, Sabres, and others in that size range. I can fly bigger stuff, too, but those are my strong suits."
Lex found Tann to be intense and eager to come to the business of his assignment. "We are being brought up to capacity on Fighter groups. The station's complements have been amended incrementally since coming back on line. Should we have need to assign you to a fighter, it is good to know you are familiar with them" Lex himself found distasteful flying machines which were meant to kill, but he had learned how to balance his life in the service with his personal values. "I myself have never piloted any fighters." He took a sip of his drink and then continued to address some of the rest of Tann's skills on offer. "I'm afraid my qualifications in the pilot's seat pale compared to your own. Most of my flight experience is unremarkable. I have been something more of a navigation specialist, coming up. Most of my flight hours were logged in a co-pilot's chair or on night watches. I have been in Tower control for almost two decades now. It suits me to raise my family on Starbases. Raising kids, you know, it keeps you young," he joked, clearly aware of the differences in both of their ages, and between both of their aging.
"Remember," Braedyn said. "A relative few hours of familiarization time in a fighter does not amount to six to twelve months of Aerospace Fighter Combat Training. I've done that course in other small craft, but not fighters. I've flown both attack and assault shuttles, runabouts, and hoppers. Originally that was mostly close air support and delivering troops on target, but I helped to develop more effective ship-to-ship combat tactics for combat support craft. And of course the Nyberrite Alliance uses small craft for patrols and privateering actions."
"Of course," The old goat echoed, although he wasn't especially clear who the Nyberrite Alliance consisted of so much as he was active listening. "Privateering. Fascinating."
Braedyn grinned. "And you wouldn't know it from looking at me and judging me by human standards, but I've got a grown son, a daughter-in-law, some grown grandchildren, a few great grandchildren. My son studied hydroponics like his grandfather. He works mainly in the Rigel System, on the planets where the climate doesn't allow for agriculture, but he was also a part of several projects as part of the Cardassian Reconstruction, as was my daughter-in-law. One of my granddaughters was there as well. She was always fascinated by trains and rail travel. We thought it was just a kid thing, but she stuck with it. Studied rail engineer and system design with Keth Birev. You probably know that Keth means 'clan' in Standard."
"Indeed," Lex nodded, interested in hearing of the pilot's family.
"Keth Birev's specialty is rail engineering. They've been involved with it since the very first track was laid on their planet. They're actually known as 'the rail builders'. Anyway, she's worked on many rail projects on worlds in the Rigel System and beyond, and helped the Cardassians build environmentally friendly, energy efficient rail systems for their planets. The hope is that if they don't burn up the natural resources we helped revitalize, like they've done in the past, they won't use that as an excuse to conquer other worlds and strip them of their resources."
"Mmhm. Yes, resource scarcity often does fuel a fight." Like most Grazerites, Lex appreciated hearing of acts to mitigate confrontations or establish more peaceful relations. "That is quite admirable. Your family must be very proud of her."
"Anyway, enough of me bragging about my progeny. You were saying?"
"What was I saying?" Lex looked off distantly for a moment and then returned his present look, wagged a finger, suddenly recalling something Baedyn would find to his interest. "Ah, Obsidian Command is soon to receive two Wallaces. You'll have to excuse me not recalling the time of their arrival. I think the flight plan of the delivery crew has been amended on multiple occasions. Everything has been something of a blur already, since the Station was recovered and brought back online only a few short months ago— It still feels rather new. And now it is only a couple of days since the start of our Yellow Alert Status, and the resupply and re-manning of the place has ratcheted up full steam since Admiral Sepandiyar took command. He's had end to end secret meetings, much of them with Tactical and Intel advisors. For my part I am simply given the briefings to distribute to the lead pilots."
"Well," Braedyn said. "I'm ready to go. This may sound arrogant, but it seems like a waste of resources to keep me in the barn. Hells, I can even fly Talon scouts, and with a little leeway and a bit of faith on the part of command, I know how to modify an Arrow Class Runabout for longer range and higher endurance Aerospace reconnaissance. But, until then, I do some flight safety officer stuff, if that's okay with you. And I'll be on hand to investigate any Aerospace mishaps you want me to look into, since Aerospace Accident Investigator is on my resume, too. Sorry, probably sound like I'm bragging again, but I've been around a long time and I've picked up a lot of knowledge and skills that I've done my best to stay current on."
"Yes, we can put you to good use in flight safety and training. And I would be surprised if you weren't called up shortly for one of the regional operations. But consider yourself reported in, Chief Tann, and make yourself known to the Chief Shuttle Bay Officer. He can get you into the training rotations."
"Copy that, Senior," Tann replied. "I'll do that right now."
Lex accepted back the emptied mug which he set aside to be cleaned later. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Chief." He said by way of accepting Tann was taking his leave, before himself moving back to some administration reports, humming an old folk tune.
